


With You, Regrettably

by Dagaan



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Puella Magi Tart Magica: The Legend of “Jeanne d’Arc”
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Huddling For Warmth, Redemption AU, backstory headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28570731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dagaan/pseuds/Dagaan
Summary: A particularly nasty snowstorm starts as Darc, Melissa, Liz, and Corbeau, who recently defected to the French side, fight a witch. Split up from their team, Liz and Corbeau try and find shelter from the buffeting ice, much to the black haired girl’s chagrin.
Relationships: Liz Hawkwood/Corbeau (Tart Magica)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. Goodnight

**Author's Note:**

> AU time! Basically Corbeau left Isabeau’s side to try and find a new, better place for her sisters. Winning them over to the other side may be... difficult. Especially for Minou.

The winter wind howled in her now frozen ears, black hair whipping behind her as snow and ice pelted her face through the cloak she held up to block it. Her feet were numb, her boots soaked from the snow, making her have to focus on each step to keep from stumbling. She wished she’d thought to finish winterizing her clothing sooner, but none of them had been expecting to hit such bad weather especially so early in the season. 

Liz was, truly, thoroughly miserable. To top it off, she happened to be stuck with Corbeau. Fantastic. Why couldn’t she have gotten split off with anyone else— why had that labyrinth even broken them up in the first place after they’d killed the witch? Sure it’d happened before, but it wasn’t common. They were probably close, at least, but she couldn’t sense either Darc or Melissa’s magic. To top it off, the sun was setting as the snow started to pile up. She shot a glare in the other magical girl’s direction, though it went unnoticed as she squinted through the blizzard.

“I think I see something.” Corbeau practically shouted to be heard over the wind.

Liz turned her glare ahead, attempting to peer through the snow as she continued to shuffle forward— sure enough, there did appear to be something there. A small house, perhaps? The wind suddenly died down, though it still whipped around the corners of the structure. It appeared to be a barn of some sort judging by the build and large double doors Corbeau was currently heading for. 

Inside was considerably quieter thanks to the shelter, and though not warm, being out of the stinging cold made it much more comfortable. Liz crouched, swinging her bag off her back and removing her ice-coated cloak before it soaked the rest of her clothing, unhooking her lantern to light it. It took a few tries due to her numb and shivering fingers, but she finally got a spark to catch, shedding faint light to the room. While she could make out the details of the room fine in the dark — a side effect of her wish — the light brought a measure of color to the picture. The dirt floor was mostly bare, with yellow hay piled somewhat neatly on one side and a couple horses (who shot them a curious glance upon entry) in their stables on the other. She looked back to her bag, face taut as she tried to force her hands to put her flint back in its pouch.

“You okay?” The taller girl’s voice broke her train of thought.

Liz didn’t look up from her crouch on the floor, though she did manage to tuck the flint away, instead frowning at her lantern. “I’m fine.” A dull shiver ran through her body.

Corbeau raised her eyebrows, giving Liz a disbelieving look.

The smaller girl glanced up when she heard no response, catching the look the other was giving her. Liz rolled her eyes slightly and huffed, grumbling. “Well, I’ve been better.” 

Grabbing the lantern with her stiff fingers and standing, she went to hoist her pack and take a step forward, but almost pitched headfirst back to the floor as her numb legs gave out, only stopping as Corbeau hooked an arm around her. She pushed lightly at the hold as she got her feet back under her, frown deepening into a scowl. Really, why did she have to be stuck with her.

Corbeau cursed under her breath when they made contact. “You’re freezing.” The taller girl shifted, taking the lantern from Liz’s hand and moving to scoop her arm around her to support her weight.

“Let me go, I’ll be fine. I’ve survived worse.” The black haired girl grabbed at her arm to push her away, but changed her mind when her legs wobbled again.

“I’m sure you have, but you still need to warm up.” Corbeau started walking slowly towards the hay, making sure Liz was able to keep pace. Setting the lantern down a few feet from the pile, she helped the other magical girl to sit before going back for her bag and putting it within her reach.

Liz continued to frown from her new seat in the hay pile, choosing to occupy herself by trying to make it into something approximating a bed (though it was in somewhat of a reclined position so she could keep an eye on Corbeau). She took her soaked boots off, scooting them away from the pile and instead burying her feet in the hay as she rooted in her pack for spare socks. It wasn’t warm, exactly, but it was dry.

Luckily they’d been on their way to a camp, and while they travelled light, they had packed some minor supplies. Corbeau started a small fire, only big enough to warm some rations and hang her canteen over to warm up the water inside. The last thing they needed was to burn down the barn. Liz noted that she also grabbed her boots, moving them closer to the weak flames in an attempt to dry them. 

Keeping the bottle against her body had stopped it from freezing, but heating the drink would help to get Liz to warm up. On the other hand, the rations were rather cold, and while not particularly good at any time were comparatively much nicer when warmed through.

Food eaten, Corbeau sat next to Liz, stretching a bit as she did so and scooting another clump of hay to the pile, though she was close enough to share the space the dark haired girl had made. Frown reappearing on her face, Liz grumbled and shifted away from the taller girl, attempting to put at least a couple inches space between them. She was cold, miserable, and worried about the other two. The last thing she wanted was to have to fight Corbeau to leave her alone; hopefully she could get her limbs to respond properly if it came to that.

The white haired girl sighed, looking over at Liz. “My bla— Liz. I know you’re not going to want to do this, but you need to warm up. I promise I won’t... do anything, ah, uncouth. But,” She reached for the first button on her jacket. “The only way to not freeze out here is going to be to share body heat.”

The black haired girl scowled, not looking at her companion. “I think I’d rather freeze. I don’t trust your word in the slightest.”

Liz caught the movement of Corbeau’s hand out of the corner of her eye, causing her to bring her own arm up and cast her glare over to her companion. The scowl disappeared off her face when she caught sight of the white haired girl’s soul gem resting in her palm, milky white and glowing. 

“Would you trust me more if you held this? If I do anything, you can break it. Just... tell Darc we found another witch and I didn’t make it, or something.” Corbeau’s voice was steady, though a a hint of sadness crept into her tone as she suggested the other girl could shatter her gem.

Liz wasn’t sure if that was because she simply didn’t want to die, or if it was because there would be a lack of struggle involved.

Hesitantly, Liz, reached her hand out and took Corbeau’s soul gem. Rolling it into her palm and closing her fingers around it, she sighed; shutting her eyes and leaning on the taller girl a moment later. “Fine.” She flopped back into the hay. “I guess I’d like to feel my fingers sooner than later.”

Corbeau finished undoing the buttons of her jacket, pulling her arms in as she lay down and shifting it as a sort of makeshift blanket over both of them, holding Liz a little more closely against her. Tucking her head under her chin, Liz snuggled up to Corbeau, reluctantly grateful for the warmth. Really, it’s not like the cold would kill her— being a magical girl has its perks— but freezing wasn’t any less uncomfortable. Not to mention hypothermia would put a damper on finding the rest of their group in the morning.

The wind continued to howl outside as they lay there, huddled against the chill. Liz shifted only to burry her legs under the straw before stilling, arms tucked against her chest, rolling Corbeau’s soul gem in her palm.

“I used to do this with my sisters, you know.” A soft voice broke the steady beating of the storm.

Liz tipped her head in response, half startled by the rumble in Corbeau’s chest as she spoke.

“Well, before we were... adopted, I guess you’d say. A bit more like plucked off the street.” She continued, thoughtful.

The black haired girl shifted a bit more, pulling her body back a bit and reaching for her own jacket buttons.

“Ah, sorry. I’ll save it for another time; you should get some sleep.” The white haired girl adjusted their jacket-blanket, making sure to keep it partly tucked under her side to not let the cold air in, arms settling back around the girl beside her.

Liz, buttons undone, likewise slipped her arms out of her coat and around Corbeau, grumbling. “You might as well continue. I don’t think I’m going to have much luck sleeping like this.” A pause. “It might make me feel better to know more about my allies, anyway.” She added quietly.

Corbeau hummed, nudging her cheek on top of Liz’s head. “Alright, I’ll start... ah, at the beginning, I guess.

“Minou and I are the only two related by blood. We were orphaned after our Mother died; I was about nine, and Minou was five. I don’t really remember much about her. We found Lapin later, begging alone— I figured she was about Minou’s age and felt bad leaving her, and she was fine tagging along. I was rather tall for my age, so maybe she felt safer with us; regardless, we’ve been together ever since. It wasn’t until later that I found out she was actually older than me! 

Anyway, we used to huddle in a barn on the colder nights, kind of like this. I found a coat somewhere, though it was a little too big for me to use regularly it made a decent blanket; large enough to lay across the the three of us when it was open, at least. I’d sit in the middle of our hay bed and they’d each huddle up to my sides, usually completely under the blanket. Trying to get out in the morning for food was interesting, but I’ll save some of those stories for another day.

“Then Mothe— Isabeau found us; I’m still not sure why she was in the lower areas of town. Regardless, she took us in. Fed us, bathed us, gave us rooms and anything we asked for. I was... skeptical. Who’d do all this for some stray kids they saw? Why us? But... they looked so happy. This was like a dream come true; something out of a fairy tale. It was all any of us could ever ask for and more. And really, I certainly didn’t want to go back to the streets. Regardless of my doubts, their safety seemed more secure with her, and that’s all I needed to try and keep Isabeau happy.

“Of course, it wasn’t just because she took pity on us. She saw potential in us; three sisters, all able to be magical girls— it was practically perfect, I’m sure. Isabeau started it off as stories. ‘What if someone told you you could wish for anything. Anything at all, and it would come true. Would you take it?’ she’d said. Well, you’d have to be a fool to say no, but a bigger fool to not ask what the cost was. I suppose I’m grateful she didn’t lie to us about what it is to be a magical girl, but she did make it out to be... more than human, which I suppose isn’t a lie either.”

Corbeau paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, shaking her head as though trying to shrug off a bad memory. Clearing her throat, she continued. “And well... one wish and a few years later, and now I’m here. So I guess things work out in the end, huh?” Liz felt her grin on top of her head.

Liz hufffed quietly in response, tipping her head to fit the bridge of her nose more comfortably against Corbeau’s neck. “Unfortunately.”

The white haired girl only smiled wider, holding the other girl a little tighter. “Unfortunately.”


	2. Good Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Liz, Corbeau woke up first.  
> Anyway, short chapter. Wanted to see how multi-chapter posting went, but also it kind of fit a little more separated.

Corbeau woke up confused, half buried in hay and scratchy all over. Cracking one eye open she glanced down, nearly jumping when she realized it was Liz cuddled up to her before she remembered the rest of the night. Still, she silently thanked whoever or whatever may have had a hand in the events prior; she didn’t think she was very likely to have a moment like this again.

The white haired girl sighed, holding Liz a little closer and relishing in the warmth. She wasn’t really looking forward to having to move, especially when she remembered the snow they’d gotten. Still, her black beauty would probably be upset if they didn’t go looking for Darc and Melissa as soon as possible, so Corbeau shifted slightly to rub Liz’s back to wake her.

“Liz?” She prompted.

A slight groan in response. She really was very cute, even with her hair a mess and full of hay.

“My black beauty, as much as I don’t want to, we should probably get up now.” The white haired girl propped herself up on an elbow, shivering as cold air crept under their jacket-blanket.

Liz mumbled something, wrapping one arm more tightly around Corbeau while the other hand bunched in her shirt, snuggling against her chest again.

“... A couple more minutes, then.” Corbeau dropped back down to the hay, adjusting the blanket to cover her shoulders and settling her chin on top of the other girl’s head.

Having Liz be angry with her wouldn’t the worst thing in the world, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, Elisa’s probably losing her mind overnight at camp. How _dare_ they not be back by now! Not that she’s _worried_ — Heavens no — but if la Pucelle got done in by some random witch she’s going to have some words. She’s about ready to go march off into the snow looking for them, but then Darc and Melissa stumble in and they all decide to go looking in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, hopefully none of you are survival experts because I’m sure this is riddled with errors lol  
> Anyway, the world needs more Corbriz! And Tart Magica in general.
> 
> Ch. 2 isn’t very long, but I wanted to get used to the idea of posting multiple chapters (and also see how it works).


End file.
